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The Carver's Art: Crafting Meaning from Wood

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This book shows the breadth and scope of meanings that are carved into wooden chains by Indiana craftsmen. Folklorist Simon Bronner begins his study with a simple question: Why would anyone spend hours and hours carving out wooden chains? The answers that he finds show that simple questions often have complex answers. Bronner provides a glimpse into the souls of the carvers as he reveals the significant aspects of the aesthetic and emotional dimensions of life history that are crafted into the art of the carvers.

Bronner presents the life histories of four carvers from Indiana as resources for understanding woodcarving's appeal. The book is a detailed study of chain carving, and the description is so thick that a reader could actually learn to carve a wooden chain by reading this study of an popular folk art. What makes this book so interesting is the way in which Bronner connects the carvers' biography with woodcarving to ascertain important values within the carvers' lives. Throughout the book, Bronner uses folkore scholarship to provide important insights into ways in which an individual's early life experiences provide a base for creativity during the twilight years. At times, his analysis is speculative, but Bronner's interests are intriguing and provide interesting ways to think about creativity and aging.